CHANGE OF SUBJECT

Change Of Subject

August 12, 2007|By Eric Zorn

Quick trip not short on fun

Want to get away? We did.

But day-camp schedules and various work obligations were coordinated so poorly that we couldn't fit in a classic family summer vacation. So we overnighted in Springfield last weekend. It was, you'll excuse the expression, a capital idea: All the history there is interesting, inspiring and inexpensive. Taking a family of five to see the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum is cheaper than taking them to the movies, and tours of the Lincoln's Home National Historic Site, Lincoln's Tomb and both the old and new State Capitols are free.

Closer to home is Matthiessen State Park, near Utica, a grand little canyon for day hiking where we stopped on our way back. Nearby Starved Rock State Park gets most of the pub', but Matthiessen is idyllic, relatively uncrowded and less than two hours from Chicago. Yellowstone will have to wait.

Lincoln as boyfriend

On a portion of one wall of the Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield are the words of Mary Owens, one of Honest Abe's early sweethearts. She said she found the young Lincoln "deficient in those little links which make up the chain of women's happiness."

It was an awfully elegant way to say he wasn't good boyfriend material and she wanted to see other people.

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Flip-flops and hypotheticals along the campaign trail

Flip-flops have a bad name in politics, and so do hypothetical questions. Last week in "Change of Subject" I rallied to the defense of both. After Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) said "I do not believe people running for president should engage in [answering] hypotheticals" in Tuesday's Democratic presidential candidates' forum at Soldier Field, I called baloney.

The hypothetical question -- "What if ..?" -- remains one of the great tools of ethical exploration. How well candidates respond to hypothetical situations reveals if they have moral clarity, intellectual rigor and self-understanding, or if they're just fonts of cliches and gauzy, general promises.

I believe candidates who don't answer hypothetical questions should be chased from the stage with seltzer bottles. And so should candidates who accuse others of "flip-flopping" merely for changing their minds.

The question came up in relation to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's recent statement in a debate that he was "deeply opposed to abortion" when he first ran for office in 1994, and now considers it a mistake to have told voters then and in 2000 that he would support abortion rights.

Problem is, this characterization and this story conflicts with a tale he has often told of having an epiphany on the issue in November 2004 -- deciding he was against abortion rights while confronting the issue of embryonic stem cell research. Visit me online, read the relevant clips and you'll agree: This doesn't look like inconsistency; it looks like dishonesty -- either back then, now, or both.

Garcon! Another seltzer bottle, please!

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Posted!

I wasn't too surprised when the contemptible Fred Phelps, head of the hate-mongering Westboro Baptist Church, argued last week that the bridge collapse in Minneapolis was God's judgment against homosexuals.

But I was surprised to hear this from PBS host John McLaughlin as his "The McLaughlin Group" panel discussed the bridge disaster: "Are you surprised that ... the federal government did not anticipate [that] the waves of immigrants that have been coming into our country and joining this great society [would] exact wear and tear on the infrastructure?" And it occurred to invite readers to suggest ways that other interest groups and advocates could exploit this tragedy for their own purposes. Here are some of the more creative, tongue-in-cheek responses:

"It is obviously the fault of the feminists. If women just stayed home and took care of their husbands and children, they would not be taking such a toll on our bridges and interstate highway systems."

Austin Mayor

"This is George Bush's fault for blocking Kyoto. It is obvious that global warming has caused the freezing and thawing cycles up there to intensify, weakening the bridge."

Dave

"Obviously it's the extra weight Americans are carrying on their frames that is wearing out the roads and bridges. For this we can blame people who eat too much, along with the companies that provide them with the food -- McDonald's, the grocery stores, bakeries, pizza joints and junk food manufacturers."

Orange

"It's obviously Steve Bartman's fault. If he would have left well enough alone, Moises Alou could have caught the ball, the Cubs would have made the next five outs, and we would have been on to sure victory in the Series. His interference has caused many to waste time pondering 'what if?' All that time wasted could have been better spent studying structural engineering."

WestSub

Among the serious responses was this:

"If you took all the money that is wasted on the war on drugs and used it to repair roads and bridges and rapid transit, we would be a wonder of the world."